I think birth should be a woman's decision and home births can be fantastic. But, I think some women get into a danger of becoming fanatical about it and this is where the danger lies. By all means try and have your birth as natural as possible if that's what you want, but don't close your mind off to medical advances. In the old days 1 in 10 women died in childbirth, now, we are no where near those statistics and that is solely down to medical advances.Personally I wouldn't have a tooth removed without pain relief and I don't see having a baby as any different, but that's my view. Others prefer to feel all the pain and feel as though they haven't had a 'true' labour if they haven't felt all the pain too. I think that' s a problem in the psyche, but each to their own.

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Toni - posted on 04/11/2009

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I think the danger in the psyche comes in when women refuse to acknowledge medical advances and refuse any medical intervention to the detriment to theirs and their childs health...such as the women in the article. She had already had a c-section in a previous pregnancy, felt she'd been pressured and shouldn't have accepted it and then joined a crusade against ALL medical intervention, which is just ludicrous and look where it got her! She thought her c-section was un-necessary and basically wanted to prove doctors wrong...but they weren't were they? She obviously has a problem giving birth naturally. Instead of fighting it she should just accept it, that that's how it is for her if she wants a healthy baby. Maybe her next pregnancy, if she has one, will be problem free but i certainly wouldn't be taking no chances and I doubt any doctor would either if her past medical history is anything to go by.

I think that there's a pressure between women to go meds free or no intervention. I also think some women see their labour as a competition and it shouldn't be like that. Who endured the most, whose story is the most grisly or painful.

I've read some stories on here where women are complaining about what their doctor did and how they didn't stick to plan. Well you know what, I don't know one single woman who's labour went to plan because like I said earlier, no 2 pregnancies are the same. But at least those women have a healthy baby at home and that's the main thing.

Personally I think the reason why the amount of C-sections are so high is because of the liability factor. If anything goes wrong and the doctors didn't do all they could, they'll be sued and for horrendous amounts of money. So they don't take any chances...whip that baby out before anything can go wrong. Although some doctors would also say that a c section is more dangerous to the woman and the baby and also let's not forget the recuperation period is a hell of a lot longer and a lot more painful. Personally I will be listening to my doctor when I have another child. If he thinks I need another c-section to 'be on the safe side' then so be it. I won't risk my future baby's life just so I can be 'au natrel' and prove a point.

MOST births have little to no complications. MOST. But, when women need medical intervention then yes, you should have it! Doctors are not bad and I went to see a doctor, too. I gave birth in a hospital with an OB. I'm lucky to be built the way I am: I have a huge butt due to my huge hips so birthing was really easy for me. Like I said, if a woman needs an epidural or other pain meds she can and SHOULD take them...but I still think a woman should try to have a natural birth. If it doesn't work and a lady asks for pain relief that doesn't make her less of a woman or less of a mommy-just means she needed some relief. I can respect that! After 36 hours of labor you get tired and just want to sleep!That said, the reason why c-sections are so high is because it's easy and it's fast. Get that baby out, no screaming women in pain, and it's all over in a few minutes. People will almost never fault a doctor for doing a c-section, but they will fault them for NOT doing one. Does that mean all c-sections are unnecessary? NO! Like you said, in certain cases it's needed and it's important. When I said women need to stop blindly trusting other people that's what I meant: blind faith. Women should research, go to classes, TALK to their doctors or midwives and be an active participant in their pregnancy and birth. Too many women just let doctors do things to them without question because they're doctors and should know best. But it's better to ask questions and KNOW what you're getting into rather than just going "Okie dokie" and going along with everything. But if after talking and asking questions it comes down to the baby or mom is in distress and a c-section is needed then a woman should listen to medical opinion. Yes, medical advances are great and we shouldn't knock them. People need medical intervention sometimes and that includes birthing mothers. But that doesn't mean that a woman is crazy or has a problem in the psyche if a woman doesn't want pain relief. Just means she wants to birth her own way. So if you want pain relief you should get it and feel no shame. If you want to go "au naturale" then go for it and believe in yourself and your body to get you through it. Sometimes we don't get the birth experience we want or dream of, but that's what happens. In the end we should get a happy, healthy baby and have no regrets about how he or she got there. THAT'S what's truly important.

1 in 10 women used to die in child birth because of infection. Then when people started washing their hands the death rate dropped dramatically. So, in a way I guess you could say that's due to medical advances...America has one of the highest c-section rates in the world and one of the highest maternal and infant death rates as well. Women are scared of what will happen in child birth and instead of having women around them who have been through it, survived, and know how to help, they have a "team" of medical professionals who may have never personally given birth. The professionals tell women they need the pain meds, they need the c-section, they need to have their water broken...they need to deliver that baby in 2 hours or you're going to get cut open. Most births don't require medical intervention but it's done anyway because women have been told they don't know how to birth. Some women are high risk and can't have home births and for those women medical intervention IS necessary. I think women should at least TRY to give birth naturally. If you can't that doesn't make you less of a woman...but you should at least try. The birthing position most women attempt to use is flat on your back with your feet in the air. That makes no sense. That closes your pelvis, puts the baby in the wrong position, and makes it harder to push! But it sure does make it easier for the doctor to "catch" if you birth in that position. A really great movie that you can watch instantly on Netflix is called The Business Of Being Born. It really is a great movie and gives you a lot of insight into the way the birthing business is run-and yes, it's a business.

I had my daughter without pain meds, in the hospital, after having been induced, and I hadn't taken any birthing classes either. Women need to stop blindly trusting other people and trust their own bodies.

I believe that's what the woman in the article was doing, trusting her own body. Even though she had needed a c-section with her previous labour she had obviously decided that the doctors had no idea what they were doing...now her decision has cost her the life of her baby.

I'm from England and the rate of c-sections and other medical interventions over here is classed as quite high, yet our health care is funded by the state so the doctors and hospitals make no money from us, if anything they're cutting corners in some areas to make ends meet. So why do you think it is that those same doctors and midwifes still proceed with expensive medical interventions instead of ensuring a woman gives birth naturally so that they can send her on her way? Why choose expensive intervention and expensive hospital stays (not to mention the pain killers) when they could just send the women and babies home cheaply?

I agree that some methods for birthing such lying flat on our backs is old fashioned, but over here we're encouraged to move around. Unless of course we have an epidural for pain relief in the final stages.

I think some women are being almost intimidated into having totally natural births with no interventions to the detriment of their health and their babies. They're feeling a failure if they ask for pain relief. It sometimes feels like it's becoming a competition. Women compairing their birth stories and trying to one upmanship each other.

1 in 10 women/babies didn't die in the past solely from infection, although I'll agree it had a part to play. Women died because of Pre-eclampsia which no one knew anything about, or from blood loss, or cords wrapped around babies necks and all the other worries and horror stories we all know and hear about. My baby would have died or been brain damaged if she hadn't been cut from me. A friend of mine is still in hospital 2 days after birth because of blood loss...no intervention other than to stop the bleeding. How do a team of women who have experienced labour stem blood loss or limit the effects of pre-eclampsia? They can't, they need medical know how. Women don't necessarily know that they're high risk till they get to a critical point.

I think to ignore medical advice is foolish. By all means make your wishes known and ask the doctor to stick to your plan till it is critical that they can't, but don't think for one minute that you know best...you don't and you can't, because no 2 pregnancies and labours are the same. Things happen, things change. Our bodies change between pregnancies and a doctor is trained to spot signs that you would be completely unaware of.

I'm sorry to rant but when I read this article it made me so sorry for and yet so angry towards this woman who has lost her baby and all down to bull headedness.

1 in 10 women used to die in child birth because of infection. Then when people started washing their hands the death rate dropped dramatically. So, in a way I guess you could say that's due to medical advances...America has one of the highest c-section rates in the world and one of the highest maternal and infant death rates as well. Women are scared of what will happen in child birth and instead of having women around them who have been through it, survived, and know how to help, they have a "team" of medical professionals who may have never personally given birth. The professionals tell women they need the pain meds, they need the c-section, they need to have their water broken...they need to deliver that baby in 2 hours or you're going to get cut open. Most births don't require medical intervention but it's done anyway because women have been told they don't know how to birth. Some women are high risk and can't have home births and for those women medical intervention IS necessary. I think women should at least TRY to give birth naturally. If you can't that doesn't make you less of a woman...but you should at least try. The birthing position most women attempt to use is flat on your back with your feet in the air. That makes no sense. That closes your pelvis, puts the baby in the wrong position, and makes it harder to push! But it sure does make it easier for the doctor to "catch" if you birth in that position. A really great movie that you can watch instantly on Netflix is called The Business Of Being Born. It really is a great movie and gives you a lot of insight into the way the birthing business is run-and yes, it's a business.

I had my daughter without pain meds, in the hospital, after having been induced, and I hadn't taken any birthing classes either. Women need to stop blindly trusting other people and trust their own bodies.

Having a home birth is different then having a free birth. Home births are supposed to still be attended by medical professionals, this lady had the father and a friend. That IS dangerous, but like I said different from what a home birth is supposed to be. I really don't think it's a "problem in the psyche" to want to feel childbirth. I didn't have an epidural because I could not stand the thought of having a needle in my spine and being numb from the waist down. To me, I would take the pain over that. Then again, this really has nothing to do with pain meds or not in labor, it's the fact that some people always go the extreme. I see nothing wrong in a homebirth as long as you take all the nesessary percautions to make it as safe as possible, and not to have the idea in your head that somehow doctors and hospitals are horrible.